Business IT
Tax
Apple steps up lobbying amid European tax probe
Adam Satariano, Aoife White Tim Cook pushes back against European officials, who accuse Apple of using subsidiaries in Ireland to avoid paying taxes on revenue generated abroad. The investigation could force the company to pay almost $12 billion in back taxes.
VR
Google forms virtual reality division as Facebook rivalry heats up
Jessica Guynn Google has formed a division to focus on virtual reality, a move that comes in the face of growing competition from Facebook and its subsidiary Oculus.
Hackathons
The big business of hackathons
Mahesh Sharma Hackathons have turned into million-dollar businesses of their own, as corporates scramble for the attention of the industry's best developer talent.
Politwoops returns as Twitter reverses decision to block transparency watchdog
Karen Workman Politwoops will once again be able to collect and publish the deleted tweets of politicians around the world after Twitter announced that it reached a deal with the organisations that run the website.
Data
Personal information of more than 190m American voters appears online
Andrea Peterson Questions raised about the security chops of political campaigns who increasingly hold large caches of personal data.
Start-ups
Start-ups: how maintaining good mental health is best for business
Mahesh Sharma The external and internal pressures of building a start-up frequently lead to burning out and depression, but help is at hand.
Security
Makers of notoriously insecure Java software ordered to help PC users clean it up
Brian Fung Oracle, one of the world's largest tech companies, has been accused by the US government of misleading consumers about the security of its software Java, which is installed on roughly 850 million computers.
Business
Apple names Jeff Williams COO, a job once held by Tim Cook
Long serving executive who oversaw Apple Watch, social responsibility initiatives has been made Apple COO.
Data
Pro sport and big data: coaches may be more in favour than athletes
Matthew Hall Professional sport is still working out how to tackle big data and understand how technology can assist elite athletes, according to top-level sports sports officials in the United States.
Therapy app triggers $26 million business decision
Yolanda Redrup Manual Jardim was a burned out property developer at 33, when an app on his smartphone helped him change his life.
Web
Network effect: the science of addictive social media
Natasha Singer The drive to hook users into an endless stream of media could have negative effects - not just to health but to the web industry as well.
CommBank joins UNSW in $1.6m cyber security education partnership
Claire Connelly The UNSW computer science undergraduate degree will offer a specialist stream focused on cyber security.
Energy
Off-grid suburb a 'perfect storm' for energy giants
Claire Connelly Renewable energy alternatives and off-grid energy storage are hastening the move away from fossil fuels.
Education
Code Club gets $1 million birthday present
Claire Connelly On the eve of its first birthday, an Australian non-for-profit facilitating digital literacy in school-aged children just received a million present from the federal government and the Telstra Foundation.
Is it really free Wi-Fi?
Andrew Colley Shopping centre and cinema giant Scentre Group has analysed the air above the heads of shoppers in its Westfield malls in Australia and has found that those who tune in to its Wi-Fi are bigger spenders than those who don't.
Phoenix rises from the ashes to battle Aussie bushfires
Bennett Ring Firefighters and planners are using an Australian-made bushfire simulator to help them do their job.
Marketing
Big brands brave Periscope stumbles to reach millennials
Jessica Toonkel Despite the risks, big brands are going ahead with plans to use live-streaming video to attract some of the most finicky consumers.
Business
Algorithms and the death of the recruiter
Beverley Head There are 11.8 million employees in Australia – and the internet is coming to get them.
Business
Food disruptors aim for big bite of startup pie
Beverley Head Liz Kaelin was tired of eating sad sandwiches at corporate events. A trained dietician, Kaelin knew it was a waste of her day's calories, especially in a city flooded with food options.
Business
Facebook's Zuckerberg to take two months paternity leave
Yasmeen Abutaleb A strong statement from one of the busiest and most powerful US executives on the importance of family time.
